The terrorists were dressed in Army fatigues.

Security personnel take position outside the Dinanagar police station in Punjab's Gurdaspur area, where terrorists launched an attack on 27 July.IANS

Security personnel near the Dinanagar police station in Punjab, which came under a terror attack on 27 July.IANS

Security personnel take position outside the Dinanagar police station in Punjab's Gurdaspur area, where terrorists launched an attack on 27 July.IANS

Terrorists attacked a passenger bus in Punjab and then stormed a police station in Gurdaspur early on Monday, killing 8 people including civilians and the Superintendent of Police Baljit Singh, before being shot dead.

All the three terrorists have been killed by security forces after a 12-hour long stand-off. Three civilians and five police officials lost their lives in the Gurdaspur attack.

A woman was said to be among the terrorists in Monday's attack.

The Intelligence Bureau said that the terrorists came from Narowal in Pakistan, according to reports.

While intelligence officials believe that the terrorists could be from Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad, former Punjab DGP KPS Gill told ANI that the Gurdaspur attack took place under the 'umbrella of Isis'.

"This is visiting card of Isis," Gill was quoted saying.

According to Hindustan Times, the Punjab police heard the terrorists shout 'Allah hu Akbar' — which means 'God is great', a phrase that has come to be chillingly familiar with Isis attacks.

On the other hand, some officials believe that the terrorists were from LeT and were backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as per reports.

The terrorists were reportedly wearing Army uniforms and hijacked a car to get to the police station early on Monday.

Gunmen opened fire at a bus near the station, which is located near the Punjab-Jammu Kashmir border. Some passengers have reportedly been injured. They also hurled grenades at a building housing families of police officials, before storming into the Gurdaspur police station.

The Gurdaspur attack terrorists are likely from Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad, intelligence experts have told some sections of the media.

Police sources have told Reuters that the attackers had entered India's Jammu and Kashmir state from Pakistan two days before launching the attack in neighbouring Punjab.

Sharpshooters have been sent in to take down the remaining terrorists, as per reports.

Officials have now said that one terrorist was killed and another injured. About 1 to 2 terrorists are still believed to be holed up inside an empty building and are continuing to fire at security forces.

India's Home Minister Rajnath Singh warned Pakistan of a 'befitting reply'. "We want peace with Pakistan, but not at the cost of national honour. We will not be the first to strike, but if we are hit, we will give a befitting reply," he said, according to the Press Trust of India.

Another terrorist has reportedly been killed in security operations. One militant was killed earlier. However, intermittent firing still continues, nearly nine hours after the militants launched their attack in Punjab.

There is reportedly a woman terrorist among the militants who attacked the Gurdaspur police station, an injured security personnel told ANI.

One of the police officials killed in the Gurdaspur terror attack has been identified as Punjab Police SP (detective) Baljeet Singh. The senior police officer was reportedly shot in the head while fighting the militants, according to reports.

Ceasefire violations were reported at the Pakistan border on Monday hours after the terror attack in Punjab. The intelligence bureau has said that the militants entered from Narowal in Pakistan.

An alert has been sounded in the Parliament premises, and security has been tightened in the North Block following the Punjab terror attack, according to ANI.

The terrorists have reportedly taken hostages inside the Dinanagar police station, according to CNN-IBN. The family members of some police officials have been held hostage, according to the news channel.